Handbook Collection

Public Information and Warnings Handbook

Artwork by Emma Bamblett (Wemba Wemba, Gunditjmara, Ngadjonji and Taungurung)

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The effective communication of public information and warnings is a critical element of emergency management, with the power to save lives. Timely, targeted and tailored information and warnings empower people to make informed decisions, to take protective action, and to reduce the potential impacts and consequences of a hazard.

Public Information and Warnings provides insight and guidance to people who have responsibility for communication with the public in the event of an emergency. The handbook presents nationally agreed principles for warning policy and practice and explores the essential elements and discipline of effective public information and warning delivery.

The handbook aligns national disaster resilience strategy and policy with practice, notably the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (COAG 2011) and Strategic Directions for Fire and Emergency Services in Australia and New Zealand 2021–2026 (AFAC 2021), by guiding and supporting jurisdictions, agencies and other organisations and individuals in their implementation and adoption. It also responds to Recommendation Two of the 2014 National Review of Warnings and Information (ANZEMC 2015), to advance a national approach through improved knowledge management.

The 2021 revision of Public Information and Warnings includes research outputs from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre communications and warnings research project and to reflect the adoption of the Australian Warning System, endorsed by ANZEMC in March 2021.

Purpose

This handbook provides insight and guidance to people who have responsibility for communication with the public in the event of an emergency. The handbook presents nationally agreed principles for warning policy and practice and explores the essential elements and discipline of effective public information and warning delivery.

This handbook is designed to be of value across a wide range of hazards. Whether it is a natural hazard or weather event, a public health emergency, or a hostile attack in an urban setting, the principles, importance and discipline of effective communication are broadly applicable.

The scope of the handbook spans public information and warnings and has a specific and intentional focus on the delivery of warnings. Future revisions of the handbook will expand discussion to include relevant good practice on the provision of public information.

The handbook is not intended to be operational in nature. Organisations with responsibilities for the provision of warnings have local arrangements in place, tailored to their role and responsibilities.

Who is this handbook for?

This handbook is designed to support organisations and individuals with specific responsibilities for developing and disseminating public information and warnings in an emergency. It will benefit Australian leaders and practitioners in emergency management, meteorological services, policing and security, health agencies, and other hazard management organisations. Broadcasters and other organisations committed to sharing warnings effectively will also find the handbook useful.

Individuals and community groups, regulators, auditors- general, the legal fraternity, international practitioners in disaster resilience and emergency management, and those working in communication and behavioural science may also value the information and research presented.

How this handbook has been developed

Public Information and Warnings (AIDR 2021) is part of the Australian Disaster Resilience Handbook Collection. The handbook takes into account that there are diverse arrangements and specific requirements for public information and warnings practice across Australia. The Handbook Working Group has set out to present a shared perspective on known and emerging good practice, with an all-hazards view. The handbook does not necessarily capture or reflect current policy and practice across all agencies and is not intended for this purpose. The handbook is presented in three parts:

Part 1: Warning fundamentals
Part 2: Delivering effective warnings
Part 3: Evaluating public information and warnings

Working Group

AIDR acknowledges the efforts of the AFAC Warnings Group to support the review of this Handbook:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australian Capital Territory Emergency Service Agency

Australasian Fire and Emergencies Authorities Council

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience

Bureau of Meteorology

BushfiresNT

Country Fire Authority, Victoria

Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Wester Australia

Department of Home Affairs, Emergency Management Australia

Emergency Management Victoria

Fire & Rescue New South Wales

Fire Rescue Victoria

Inspector-General of Emergency Management, Queensland

New South Wales Rural Fire Service

New South Wales State Emergency Service

Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services

Queensland University of Technology

South Australia Country Fire Service

South Australia Fire and Emergency Services Commission

South Australia Metropolitan Fire Service

South Australia State Emergency Service

Tasmania Fire Service

Victoria State Emergency Service

Quick Guides

Quick guides designed to help practitioners, and those new to the sector, quickly understand key concepts from the Public Information and Warnings Handbook.

Communications and warnings documentary series by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC

Effective risk and warning communication during natural hazards

Warnings are a critical component of emergency management, and the evolution of both policy and practice over recent years has highlighted the power of warnings to save lives and a need to learn more about why some warning strategies were more successful than others. With more organisations outside of traditional emergency response agencies now having greater responsibility with public information and warnings, this video follows Cathy Buck, Disaster Management Coordinator at the Sunshine Coast Council in Queensland. Cathy explores the key research findings with Prof Vivienne Tippett and A/Prof Amisha Mehta from the Queensland University of Technology, and sees firsthand how the research has improved the warnings issued by from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services with Information and Warnings Manager Kath Ryan.

Also available on this topic interviews with:

Prof Vivienne Tippett
A/Prof Amisha Mehta

This video is part of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC documentary series Driving change: the evolution of communications and warnings in emergency preparedness, response and recovery.

Enquiries

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience
enquiries@aidr.org.au